Haunt Me
by maelikedamonth
Summary: Eve Elmcrest must help her mom keep their psychic business afloat. On a week-long trip, she starts to uncover secrets that lie beneath a haunted, abandoned town called Iresburg. There, she finds clues about her father's death and meets a ghost named Finn Landon who will change her life forever.


Chapter 1: A Rainy Day in Sailings

* * *

It's another dreary day at the shop. I blow and sip on my hot black tea and stare out the window at the pouring rain. It's the rainy season in Sailings, which occupies most of the year. The rest of the year is sunny and warm. I turn around and look across the empty room. It's been a slow day. I can hear my mom typing on her laptop in her office. I take a deep breath and inhale the cool smell of rain. Finally, the familiar ring of the bell sounds as a customer walks in the door. My mom is busy, and since I'm not an apprentice anymore, this is _my_ customer. "Good afternoon, sir. What can I help you with?" I ask confidently. He has just come in to ask about the price for a reading and to see if we sell gift certificates. It's his daughter's birthday, and she has always wanted to have a professional reading done. I slowly fill out the gift certificate for the man, careful to take my time because my handwriting is messy. I thank him and he leaves, bringing the store back to a state of vacancy.

It's been just my mom and I for about 15 years now. My father died when I was 5 years old, so I don't remember much of him. My mom always told me I have his deep, green eyes. She never wants to talk about him or his death, though. To stay afloat financially, we opened up a shop called "Elmcrest Psychics" when I was 6. It has done quite well for itself, too. You see, my mom and I have what most people call the "gift." We see ghosts, spirits, auras, etc. At the shop, we mostly do readings now. They have been a hit since we opened. I've been an apprentice since the opening, and after my 20th birthday I became a full-time specialist.

I remember the shop in it's prime: bright decor everywhere, tapestries on the walls and a great chandelier hanging in the main room. The walls were a dark wood paneling and the floor was filled with various carpets. Looking around at it now, so desolate and worn-out, I feel a wave of nostalgia and sadness wash over me. I take another sip of my tea and close my eyes to reminisce.

"Eve, did you sort out the cards yet?" My mom breaks my chain of thought and I wince out of surprise. "Sorry, I'll do that soon," I reply. She looks distraught, but I decided refrain from asking her if something is wrong. Business has been slow this year, and we are barely making rent as it is. I know she is stressed out. I've even obtained another part-time job to help out. I work at the shop during the day, and some nights I waitress at Nancy's 24 Hour Diner. The days are long and difficult, but I know my mom needs all the help she can get. She gives me a sympathetic smile and walks back into her office to begin typing again.

Since there hasn't been any real customers in a while, I decide to do some research about the site we are working at this coming week. The best part of our job is when a "haunted" place hires us as mediums to give a tour and talk to the ghosts that roam around. I've met a plethora of ghosts throughout my life and have stayed friends with some of them. It's embarrassing, but one of my best friends is a ghost. Her name is Lacy. She lives at the Robertson Hotel: an abandoned hotel that was turned into a tour site in the 80s. She is forever 18, so we get along great. I haven't seen her in a long time since our business became worse. Looking back, I really miss her.

Anyways, the haunted site we are visiting is an abandoned town on the mainland. The town is called Iresburg. It was once a temporary settlement for early European immigrants, and in the 70s it became a tourist attraction. Theres a carnival, a casino, restaurants and more. The entire town, however, is on a boardwalk near the ocean. It was abandoned in the 90s after an accident on a carnival ride. It was on an old roller coaster, and somehow a man was on the tracks when the cars hit him. He died, and as a result the entire town shut down. Now, it's rumored to be "haunted" and is once again a tourist spot. I used to go there when I was young, but my mom stopped taking me after the shop opened. The ferry boat can take you from Sailings to Iresburg in about two hours. I should be more excited to go, but I already know it's going to be another long, boring work day filled with cheap entertainment and hyperbolic theatrics performed by my mom and I to give the full effect of a "ghost town." My mom still enjoys this part of the job. She has always been eccentric and even goes into costume at sites. The exciting part of this is that it is great business. We are doing a week's worth of tours and are even staying in the local motel. There is a huge crowd of people staying there with us, the kind of people that eat up novelty for a living.

I continue to sip my tea, taking larger gulps now, and look at photos of the town on my computer at the front desk. Iresburg looks as if it was built with the intention of becoming an entertainment spot, similar to Las Vegas. I wish I could have seen the town in its hay-day: the carnival lit up at night, food vendors all along the boardwalk, a show or two happening every night. It looked like the kind of place you would have a first date, or bring your children for a night out. I sigh, feeling my warm breath hit the cold air. The rain continues to pour, leaving me and silence to fill the shop.

* * *

After we close the shop, I make my way upstairs to our tiny two-bedroom apartment. Since we are leaving tomorrow for Iresburg, I figure I should probably start packing. I take out my brown leather suitcase that was once my father's. I begin to meticulously pack my clothing and hygiene products. I look back at my closet and see a dress I had bought in case I ever "go out on the town," not that I will. I'm not exactly the "going out" type. The sleeveless dress is dark blue with lace at the collar and elastic at the waist. It fit me perfectly in the store, and my mom insisted I buy it just in case. I carefully fold it and place it in the suitcase along with my matching dark blue flats that have a strap around the ankle. Looking down at the suitcase, I admire my work; everything fits perfectly and neatly into the suitcase. Since I have downtime before dinner, I decide to read my book.

About an hour later, my mom calls me for dinner. I walk into the kitchen to the familiar smell of hot spaghetti noodles and marinara sauce on the stove. Since we've been on a tight budget, we've really only been eating spaghetti and pizza lately. I'm fine with it though; at least we have something to eat. My mom makes me a plate first, then fixes herself one. We sit down at the table and discuss the usual topics: my job at the diner and the shop's financial standing. My mom breaks the pattern by asking me, "So, sweetheart, have you looked over the itinerary for Iresburg?" I swallow the spaghetti in my mouth and it burns my tongue a little. "I skimmed it," I reply. "I was wondering about the attractions there. Will any of them be up and running?" My mom grimaces and looks down at her plate. She takes a breath and says, "No, dear. The attractions haven't ran since 1992. I'm afraid the buildings there are as useful as a picture. They're really only there for show." We finish our dinner while making small talk. My mom is holding something back, but I'm not sure exactly what it is.

I help my mom clean the dishes, and soon it is 10 o'clock in the evening. My mom is sitting in her chair in the living room, quietly reading the Iresburg itinerary. I say goodnight and go to my room. As I lay in bed, I wonder what our trip will bring. I tell myself it will be like all the other trips: boring and tacky. But secretly I hope that something will get my mom and I out of this funk we are in. Either way, it will be nice to get out of Sailings for a while and have a change of scenery. I hadn't realized my eyes were already shut. I blissfully drift to sleep and dream of a boardwalk town lit by the lights of a carnival.


End file.
